The Post-Covid Era and the Future of the Aviation Industry: Is is worth the investment?

A state in Nigeria, Akwa Ibom, takes delivery of a new 90-seater Bombardier CRJ900 Aircraft to add to its fleet of aircraft now numbering four. The aircraft is fitted with the latest hyper technology safety device - High Efficiency Air Filter (HEAF) believed to guarantee health safety against virus, eve the deadly corona.

While the state prides over the new acquisition as adding value to its aviation sector (Ibom Air), I get so worried of the sustainability of the industry in the state following the multiplied news of downsizing in the aviation industry across the globe.

Certainly, we will agree to the fact the covid-19 has come to change the routine life native to 2019 to a new normal life that may not really support much of tourism and travels. There are multiplied news of downsizing of the aviation industry even oin Nigeria. A typical is the leading AirPeace which is downsizing to 40% operating staffers. In the words of the Air Peace boss:

“From 100 flights per day, Air peace is going down to 42 flights, so going to Abuja will no longer be every hour, do downsizing of your operations is good in cutting cost, so, we are downsizing our operations to almost about 60%, we are going to do about 40% of our operations and even in that 40%, we are not going to carry 40% of the passengers we use to carry before.” “Passenger figures are not going to be the same again like what it use to be years back, everything has changed, source

Jack Kelly also published the plans for the United Airlines to Downsize Thousands of Workers After Taking Billions of Dollars From The Government. Here is the report:

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Furthermore, Marketwatch and BBC have published plans by the Qatar Airways and Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic latest to cut thousands of job in response to the loss of patronage on the aviation due to the covid pandemic.

Where are our Priorities?

While the world is trying to re-strategize their economic deliverables, we are here investing into commodities that are losing value in the post-covid era. This is quite worrisome as it adds up to the understanding of Nigeria and Africa at large to the global restructuring in this new decade.

• What advise can one possibly give to these sort of government?
• How can an individual or groups of individual help to save our economies?

I wish I can have the answers to the above questions and be able to push it to the economic team of the state. I am certain that things are going to change. Even religious organizations are beginning to blend to the impending deviations from the usual. It's time we launch a campaign to advice our governments on the technologies that matter in this new decade in line with the societal changes.